What started in a Dunedin student flat during lockdown has grown into one of New Zealand’s fastest-rising beverage brands. Cheeky Hard Iced Tea, co-founded by two University of Otago Marketing students, Brendan Yielder and Olivier Despatis, first sparked the idea in 2020, just before New Zealand went into Level 4 lockdown.
That same year, they entered the Audacious student startup programme and went on to win the top prize and $2,000 in cash. Audacious gave them both a foundation to turn an idea into a business, and the space to experiment with their early prototypes… meaning tea bags, lemon juice, cheap vodka, and plenty of trial and error.
Cheeky’s first big test came at the Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival. They produced 400 litres of their original lemon-flavoured iced tea and set up a stall alongside some of the biggest names in the industry. By the middle of the second day, they had completely sold out.
Cheeky were also accepted into Startup Dunedin’s Distiller Incubator, where they continued to scale and grow. Their first commercial run of 30,000 cans was brewed locally and launched at Otago’s famous Orientation Week in 2021.
Today, Cheeky Hard Iced Tea offers multiple varieties, is sold in around 1,000 liquor stores nationwide, and produces tens of thousands of cans every month. Cheeky is no longer just a student side hustle. It’s a national brand with momentum, proof that a simple idea (brewed up in a scarfie kitchen) can grow into something big.